In June 2012, a small team of researchers/practitioners from Harvard Graduate School of Education and Jobs for the Future (JFF) visited Long Beach to look at the assets of the Long Beach education (higher education and K-12), non-profit, and business communities mapped against the Pathways to Prosperity framework. The Pathways to Prosperity Framework aims to ensure many more young people complete high school, attain a post-secondary credential with currency in the labor market, and launch into a career while leaving open the prospect of further education.

In September, 2012 report based on this assessment pointed out the strong educational and community partnerships between the City Mayor, California State University, Long Beach (CSULB), Long Beach City College (LBCC), and Long Beach Unified School District (LBUSD) through the Long Beach College Promise. It was noted that LBUSD has adopted Linked Learning and Pathways as its high school reform and college to career readiness initiative and when fully realized, would need to create a sequence of work-based learning opportunities for 23,000 high school students. Setting up such work based learning opportunities requires organization and time that neither educational institution nor businesses have capacity to put in place and sustain. With 80% of the Long Beach economy made of small businesses, their recommendation was to establish an intermediary to identify, prepare, host, and evaluate high school or community college students

In October of 2012, a team from Long Beach, made up of representatives from each of the three educational institutions and business attended the Pathways to Prosperity Institute. While at the institute the team drafted a work plan for the 2012-2013 year which included establishing an intermediary that would foster college, career, and pathway development after high school. Over the course of the year the team met several times and formed a small planning committee that would be responsible for moving the work forward. The team members were:

Maria Pangelinan, Asst. Administrative Analyst in the Communications Division at the Port of Long Beach

Because California is a member of the Pathways to Prosperity State Network supported by generous funding from the Irvine Foundation, JFF was able to make a small grant for a part time staff person to begin the work of establishing the intermediary. A doctoral student at UC Irvine, was hired as Director of Development beginning July 2013. Since then, Long Beach CALL has solidified a clear mission, determined its functional structure, and cultivated collaboration across several projects toward the goal of college, career, and pathway development.